Sewing-machine-needle threader.



L. 0. NAYLOR. SEWING MACHINE NEEDLE THRBADER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7, 1911; RENEWED NOV. 19, 1913.

1,100,763. Patented June 23, 1914;

UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcn LESTER 0. NAYLOR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

THE AUTOMATIC NEEDLETHREADER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION OF MAINE.

SEWING-MACHINE-NEEDLE THREADER.

Application filed August '7, 1911, Serial No. 642,648.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Lnsrnn O. NAYLoR, of New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented a certain new an d useful Improvement in Sewing-MachineNeedle Threaders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partof this specification and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to attachments for sewing machines adapted to facilitate the threading of the needle and is specifically designed as an improvement upon the needle threader disclosed in Patent No. 906,985, dated Dec. 15, 1908, to Alfred Anderson.

The objects of the invention are to provide an improved form of clamp whereby the attachment may be more readily and securely atlixed to the presser bar of the machine and to provide an improved arrangement of the guides and thread hook whereby the hook will be prevented from catching in the eye of the needle and whereby it will be guarded against injury or destruction in case it fails to pass through the eye of the needle when the device is swung into threading position.

in the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating the presser bar and needle of a sewing machine with the threading device in position. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the threading device showing the action of the clamp on the presser bar. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the threader head showing the positions a needle may assume with relation thereto. Fig. 4 is an elevation looking at the end of the threader head with portions broken away. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the clamp with the parts separated. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the head of the swinging arm and Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the hook.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts.

As in said device of the Anderson patent the device of the present invention embodies a clamping member or clip which is adapted for attachment to the presser bar of a sewing machine which clamp serves as the pivotal support for a swinging arm preferably elevated by a spring and adapted to be swung down into position for a guide and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 23, 1914.

Renewed November 19, 1913. Serial No. 801,982.

threading hook to cooperate with the machine needle, the arrangement being such that when swung down to the position last referred to the threading hook will pass through the eye of th needle into position to receive a thread and when withdrawn to carry said thread with it through the eye of the needle.

The clamp or clip of the device illustrated in the drawings embodies a shank A to which the swinging arm B is pivotally at tached as by a set screw G and a seat oval shaped in cross section for the reception of the presser bar D. The said oval shaped seat is adapted to contact with the presser bar at two points indicated at a and is held firmly in its position on the presser bar by a plate E which at one end is provided with a T-shaped head adapted to pass through and be held in a slot at in the member A and at the opposite end to be secured to said member A by a set screw A the arrangement being such that the plate contacts with the side of the presser bar opposite the member A and tends to force the presser bar into the member A with a wedging action. With this arrangement not only is the clamp or clip held firmly on the presser bar against any tendency to rotate thereon, but it may be applied to said presser bar without removing the usual presser foot. This may be accomplished by removing the set screw A and opening the plate member, or by the entire removal of the latter and its reinsertion after the body of the clip is in position. The end of the clip opposite the shank is formed into a thread cutter L.

The swinging arm B at its outer end is bent forwardly at substantially right angles to the body of the arm and flattened to form a head B for the reception of the shank F of the threading member, said shank being preferably formed up of sheet metal with side flanges f adapted to embrace the head of the swinging arm and to be guided thereby when the threading member is adjusted transversely of the arm. For securing the threading member to the head of the arm a set screw f is provided which, as in said patented device, works in a slot in the said shank. In the present device the head of the threading member is bent outwardly with respect to the head of the swinging arm to occupy a position radially a greater distance from .the pivotal center of the arm than does the head of the arm itself, whereby when the device is swung down into threading position, the head of the arm and the shank of the threading member are above the presser foot of the machine so as to avoid any interference therewith. Said head of the threading member is formed by two arms G which at their bases and for a considerable portion of their length lie in substantial parallelism and are adapted to clamp between them the shank H of the threading hook. At a point within the hook portion H of the threading hook the two arms G are bent laterally away from each other so as to form chambersor openings g on each side of the threading hook and are then bent to converge forming a narrow throat at I while their ends again diverge so as to form a tapering entrance'for guiding the needle into the narrow throat. The hook H lies centrally in the narrow throat portion of the guide formed by the arms and projects slightly above said arms when the latter'are in their tion as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 1

whereby when the hook extends through the' eye of the needle a thread placed across the hookjabove the guiding arm willbe engaged by the hook and upon the withdrawal of the hook will bedrawn through the eye of the needle.

In devices of this kind it is designed that thethreadi'ng devices shall cooperate with the needlewhen the latter is in its highest position and it will bereadily appreciated that the positioning ofthe needle is of considerable importance when the device is swung down into operative position for the reason that if the needle be either too high or too low the hook will not pass through the eye and there is liability of the hook being destroyed or bent by engagement with the needle. There is also liability of the hook, even though it should pass through the eye of the needle, engaging the wall of the eye so as to prevent its withdrawal. To avoid these difficulties in the present device, the chambers g at each side of the hook are provided into which the needle may pass without deflecting the hookto such an eX tent as to injure the same and the hook itself is provided with a comparatively narrow throat it (it being preferred to have said throat or the opening to the throat of less widththan the thickness of the needle) with the result that if the hook will pass through Gpgies 01 this patent maybe obtained for threading posifive cents each, by addressi Washington, D. 0.

the eye it may be withdrawn without catchmg.

In the preferred construction the guiding arms of 'the threader head are themselves resilient and extend forwardly in contact with the shank of the hook for a considerable distance, thus supporting the hook head in its central position and at the same time permitting of a sufficient yielding both of the hook and arms to prevent injury or destruction by bending in case the hook does not pass through the eye of the needle but is deflected to one side by the needle. To facilitate adjustment of the hook it is pro vided with a slotted shank (Fig. 4-) through which the guide arm clamping screw K passes.

The swinging arm is adapted to be automatically elevated and held, in its elevated position when not in service by a spring M which is conveniently coiled about the pivot screw of the elamping arm and at its opposite end engages the arm and clip or clamping member of the device. The shape of the arm is made to conform to the frame of the machine to which the device is to be applied, thus as shown in the drawings, it is bent intermediate itsends so as to pass around a portion of the frame found in some types of sewing machines, and when in elevated position to lie well up beneath the machine arm so as not to interfere with the material, being operated upon.

hat I claim is The herein described threader attachment for sewing machines comprising a bar clamp, an arm pivotally mounted on said clamp to swing in a vertical plane and provided at its end with a transversely projecting extension, a threader head mounted on said extension and adjustable thereon parallel with the 'aXis of the arm, said head being formed of sheet metal and comprising a base having side flanges embracing the edges of the said extension and two needle guiding arms with divergent ends and an interposed threading hook, said guiding arms and hook being connected ,to one end of the base and located onthe side of the base opposite the side flanges whereby they are radially a greater distance from the pivotal axis than the end of the arm on which they are mounted.

LESTER O. NAYLOR. Witnesses ALEXANDER S. STEWART, THOMAS DURANT.

g the "Commissioner of Iatents, 

